THE Hastings will come to a halt tomorrow as we stop to remember those who have fought and died for our country.
Dawn Services and mid-morning services and marches will be held in Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Laurieton on Anzac Day – with a special service also at the Wauchope Showground, as the first day of the show falls on Anzac Day.
Peter Longworth and his grand-daughter Amy King are among the many who plan to attend the Port Macquarie main march and service.
Peter’s father and three uncles all fought at Gallipoli – remarkably surviving, although two of them were wounded and his father Francis eventually died from the effects of being gassed at Flanders.
Amy submitted a story about the brothers in a competition run by the Sands of Gallipoli website she saw advertised in the Independent last year.
Peter has just won two places in the ballot for next year’s Dawn Service at Gallipoli and she would love to go with him, feeling close to her great-grandfather and great-uncles after researching their lives.
“The brothers were so young, only a little older than I am now, which is 16,” Amy said. “I cannot even begin to understand what it must have been like.”
She thought Anzac Day was really important to help her generation understand what their relatives went through.
“Part of it is honouring their sacrifice, but it’s also important to realise war is not glorious,” Amy said. People die – wars have casualties.”
Turn to the Anzac Day feature in this week’s Port Macquarie Independent, pages 8-9.
